Cross Indiana
A Catholic Man's 423-mile Solo Journey to Cross Indiana
Background of Paul Staso
7 Reasons for the Journey
Background of Paul Staso
Paul Staso is 60 years of age and has been a runner since age 10. In 1984, he began to explore his endurance limits, and never looked back. Formerly sponsored by New Balance, Gatorade and Oakley Eyewear, over the past 50 years he has logged beyond 50,000 miles — more than two laps of planet earth.
He has run solo across the United States
Paul Staso is 60 years of age and has been a runner since age 10. In 1984, he began to explore his endurance limits, and never looked back. Formerly sponsored by New Balance, Gatorade and Oakley Eyewear, over the past 50 years he has logged beyond 50,000 miles — more than two laps of planet earth.
He has run solo across the United States (3,260 miles in 108 days); 620 miles alone across Montana in 20 days; 500 miles solo through Alaska in 18 days; 500 miles in 21 days alone across Germany (by invitation of the U.S. Department of Defense); and, in 2011, he became the first person to run solo and self-supported over 500 miles in 17 days across the Mojave Desert (from the South Rim of the Grand Canyon to Badwater Basin, Death Valley — without caching water). Paul averages 30 miles per day while pushing his gear, food, and water in a support stroller nicknamed "B.O.B." (Beast of Burden), which weighs 65 pounds when fully loaded. He'll use the same stroller for the Cross Indiana trek.
Paul was a Torchbearer for the 2002 Olympic Games, was selected as the first European PTA Youth Ambassador, and received the Health Hero Award from the Mayo Clinic for his global efforts in promoting youth health and fitness. After growing up in Alaska, he spent over 30 years in western Montana before moving to Indiana in 2015. He holds Bachelor's degrees in Religion and Journalism, and has been a motivational speaker around the United States, as well as Europe and the Caribbean. He owned a web development and Internet marketing business for 16 years, and was founder and president of The P.A.C.E. Fitness Foundation for 15 years (PACE being "Promoting Active Children Everywhere"). He is a father and stepfather to eight adults, a grandfather to five, and is happily married to Kelley.
Paul hopes that his upcoming Cross Indiana journey will inspire others and honor the Lord. Currently, he is the Director of Faith Formation at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church (his home parish, which is located at Indiana's "Cross"-roads). However, it’s important to note that he is undertaking the Cross Indiana journey as a parishioner and NOT in his role as a director at St. Charles Church. The 15 days required for this trek will come from his accrued vacation time, and he will personally cover the costs associated with Cross Indiana.
Although Paul hasn’t completed a journey of this magnitude since 2011, his reasons for the trek are prompting him to step out in faith and use his God-given endurance ability once again (see the "7 Reasons for the Journey" section).
Scroll down to view some pictures of Paul's past running adventures across states and countries.
The Cross Indiana Trek
7 Reasons for the Journey
Background of Paul Staso
This will be a 423-mile, 15-day run/walk by Paul Staso to cross Indiana — literally. When you place a pedestrian cross (†) route over the state of Indiana, the intersection of the crossed roads are at St. Charles Church, Paul's home parish.
The Cross Indiana journey will require him to average 28 miles per day — with several days exceeding
This will be a 423-mile, 15-day run/walk by Paul Staso to cross Indiana — literally. When you place a pedestrian cross (†) route over the state of Indiana, the intersection of the crossed roads are at St. Charles Church, Paul's home parish.
The Cross Indiana journey will require him to average 28 miles per day — with several days exceeding 35 miles. Paul has run thousands of miles completely alone across states and countries, doing the crossings without a support crew or pilot vehicle... and while using a jogging stroller to carry his gear, food, and water. He'll use the same approach for the Cross Indiana journey.
In 2016, at age 51, Paul retired from ultra-endurance journeys. However, the reasons behind the Cross Indiana journey have called him back to the road (read the "7 Reasons for the Journey" section).
In 2023, Pope Francis shared a prayer intention that resonates with Paul's mission. Pope Francis said, "LET US BE DARING... pray that parishes, placing communion at the center, may increasingly become communities of faith, fraternity and welcome those most in need." At 61 years of age, Paul considers the Cross Indiana journey somewhat "daring".
He aims to encourage others to engage with their local Catholic Church and specifically invites Catholics in Miami County, Indiana, to attend St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church. Also, during the Cross Indiana trek, people can send prayer intentions to Paul via paul@crossindiana.com, which he will pray over as he crosses the state.
When he undertakes the crossing of Indiana in 2026, it will mark 40 years since his first attempt to run across America in 1986 (which was unsuccessful) and 20 years since he successfully completed his coast-to-coast run across the United States in 2006 at the age of 41. It will also be 15 years after his last solo adventure run — which was across the Mojave Desert at the age of 46 in 2011.
Paul serves as the Director of Faith Formation at St. Charles Church, but he is NOT crossing Indiana in that capacity; he is undertaking the Cross Indiana journey as a parishioner, using his accrued vacation time and paying for the costs out of his own pocket.
Scroll down to view some pictures of Paul's past running adventures across states and countries.
7 Reasons for the Journey
7 Reasons for the Journey
7 Reasons for the Journey
Paul Staso has defined 7 reasons for crossing Indiana:
(1) For children in Catholic schools nationwide to pace along with him virtually, in school teams, while praying for priestly vocations. Teachers, click here for info!
(2) To bring to the hearts and minds of those the journey connects with the need to use the gifts and talents that they
Paul Staso has defined 7 reasons for crossing Indiana:
(1) For children in Catholic schools nationwide to pace along with him virtually, in school teams, while praying for priestly vocations. Teachers, click here for info!
(2) To bring to the hearts and minds of those the journey connects with the need to use the gifts and talents that they have been given to bring glory and honor to God.
(3) To encourage people to pause and reflect on their spiritual life and consider how they can place God at the crossroads of their heart — knowing that if they’ve fallen, they can rely on God’s grace to rise again.
(4) To ask all Catholics to pray regularly for priestly vocations, especially in Indiana. For example, the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana currently has 59 priests, but projections estimate that this number will decrease to 48 by 2030 and to 38 by 2033.
(5) To encourage more individuals to attend St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Peru, Indiana, to encounter our Lord in a profound way, and to consider joining that parish community — located at the 'cross'-roads of Indiana.
(6) To encourage parents who have children in grades kindergarten through 12th grade to have their children attend the religious education program of St. Charles Church, which is held Sunday mornings for grades K-6 from 10:30—11:45 AM, and Sunday evenings for grades 7-12 (youth group) from 6:05—7:30 PM.
(7) Finally, in May 2025, the parishioners of St. Charles Church in Peru, Indiana, were informed by the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana that their Saturday Vigil Mass was being discontinued due to a shortage of priests and declining attendance. Its pastorate currently consists of 2 parishes and 2 priests. During the three months immediately leading up to the discontinuation of the Saturday Vigil Mass, St. Charles parish averaged 122 attendees at the Saturday Mass. Many parishioners would like that Mass returned to St. Charles Church. As Paul journeys across Indiana, he will be praying for the diocesan bishop to reinstate the Saturday Mass at St. Charles Church.
Paul says, "In 2013, Pope Francis said, "I invite everyone to be BOLD and CREATIVE in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities." I believe those words are as relevant today as they were then. In my view, the 'Cross Indiana' journey exemplifies bold and creative evangelization."
About St. Charles Church
7 Reasons for the Journey
7 Reasons for the Journey
For nearly 160 years, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Peru, Indiana has served the people of Northcentral Indiana. Currently, St. Charles Church has 343 registered households, and 705 registered individuals.
St. Charles parish is one of two in a pastorate — the two parishes being 17 miles apart and in two different counties (Logans
For nearly 160 years, St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Peru, Indiana has served the people of Northcentral Indiana. Currently, St. Charles Church has 343 registered households, and 705 registered individuals.
St. Charles parish is one of two in a pastorate — the two parishes being 17 miles apart and in two different counties (Logansport in Cass County and Peru in Miami County). The pastorate has two priests.
The parish in Logansport offers 5 weekday Masses and 4 weekend Masses (1 on Saturday and 3 on Sunday) — for a total of 9 Masses weekly, while in July 2025 the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana reduced St. Charles' Masses to only 2 during the week and only 1 on the weekend (Sunday) — for a total of 3 Masses weekly (which is only one-third of the Masses offered at the parish in Logansport). The reason for St. Charles losing many Masses, as reported to parishioners, was due to a shortage of priests and declining attendance. However, it should be emphasized that the parish in Logansport only has ONE Saturday Mass (at 4:30 PM) while St. Charles parish has none.
Prior to the Diocese of Lafayette-in-Indiana discontinuing the Saturday Vigil Mass in July 2025, St. Charles parish had an average of 122 people attending the Saturday Mass during the 3 months leading up to the discontinuation — according to parish records. Many parishioners have expressed that they want the Saturday Vigil Mass returned, particularly the elderly (who constitute a large percentage of parishioners at St. Charles).
Since 2015, Paul Staso has attended St. Charles Church. He is currently the Director of Faith Formation for the parish and oversees teachers in the religious education program for kindergarten through 12th grade; Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA); and, leads the youth group for 7th through 12th graders. In addition, Paul teams with catechists in leading sacramental preparation for Baptism, First Holy Communion, Reconciliation, and Confirmation. The desire of his heart is to see the Saturday Vigil Mass returned to the parishioners of St. Charles Church — which is just one of his 7 reasons for crossing Indiana.
It's important to note that Paul is NOT undertaking the Cross Indiana journey in his role as a director, but as a parishioner. The 15 days required for this trek will come from his accrued vacation time, and the expenses related to crossing Indiana will be personally covered.
Paul says it is the people of St. Charles Church that make the parish incredibly special. He notes that they are parishioners who truly care about one another, about their Catholic faith, and about their fellow man.
Paul says, "I was a protestant for 50 years before converting to the Catholic faith and St. Charles Church is my faith family. There are certainly Catholics who have chosen to stop going to Mass and forego being in a community of believers. For some, the pandemic that came upon us in early 2020 and closed Church doors for a time has been a contributing factor for their departure, and it’s a reality that many denominations are still dealing with. However, those who come through the doors of St. Charles Church are stepping into a place of friendly, faith-filled believers who want to grow closer in their relationship with Jesus Christ. Simply stated, I believe it was God’s plan to place St. Charles Church at the "cross"-roads of Indiana."